Matthew Shipp Interview at Ni Kantu

[7/4]

[clifford_thornton]

Matt was sort of chuckling as he made some of his more intense statements; to me he seems quite self-aware, and in some ways (non-musically) appears to be saying "take what I say with a grain of salt." Very friendly and jovial. I apologize if that didn't totally come through in the interview.

As for the Susie Ibarra thing, I remember the dust-up but never really delved too deep. A lot of NY musicians aren't fans or have had negative experiences with her, and I do get that she came on strong without working in the trenches too deeply. My favorite Ware drummers were Marc Edwards and Whit Dickey. I really liked hearing Parker with Denis Charles and Rashied Sinan on record, never saw him with either in person.

[colinmce]

Good read, Clifford. I'm with you completely on the mp3 thing-- it just doesn't feel real unless I can hold it. I can't connect otherwise.

FWIW I like Shipp's playing a lot, and he seems like a person I'd enjoy spending time with. Don't quite get the whole to-do. My favorite recording is The Multiplication Table. By The Law of Music is one of those I pull out every so often, like Braxton's 3 Compositions of New Jazz, to see if this will be the time I "hear it". Still hasn't happened (with either of them).

But I heard casually, secondhand, an anecdote about something he supposedly did that I don't like, so actually, fuck him ...

[Steve Reynolds]

I saw the Ware quartet with Susie in 1998 and the highlights were Susie and Matt at that show.

At a later show with Brown, the band was again fine save for Brown.

As far as Edwards and Dickey with band - on the recordings they are no great shakes - pretty standard fare freeish post 60's bashing wishing they had the nuance of a dozen other free drummers

If you dump Ibarra, at least replace her with another great drummer and not with an amateur.

One may not like Susie Ibarra but she is a tremendous drummer.

Then again there are apparently legions of NYC jazz musicians who won't give the time of day to one of the greatest drummers alive, Randy Peterson.

And it took Paul Bley to give Joe Maneri a shot at a gig at 67 years old or so. So what NYC jazz musicians think sometimes is a bit for the who gives a shit file.

[king ubu]

Matt was sort of chuckling as he made some of his more intense statements; to me he seems quite self-aware, and in some ways (non-musically) appears to be saying "take what I say with a grain of salt." Very friendly and jovial. I apologize if that didn't totally come through in the interview.

No worries, if you want to hear it, it's all there in your interivew! I'm far from the biggest Shipp fan around, but exactly because he comes across like this, I did enjoy the read so much!

Good read, Clifford. I'm with you completely on the mp3 thing-- it just doesn't feel real unless I can hold it. I can't connect otherwise.

I'm firmly in that camp, too!

[Blue Train]

Matt really is not the least bit self-important. He's self aware, smart, adaptable, open, etc. I've rarely worked with a musician of his stature who was so easy to deal with on a professional level (though Hemphill was also a breeze in the studio). And you need to check out a lot more of what he's done, Blue Train. I've seen him do very effective references to (not imitiations of) Ran Blake, Jaki Byard, Lennie Tristano, Bud Powell - he really knows his shit and he is very secure, that's true - but never arrogant in the least. Also, listen to the clip I posted to get an idea of his sense of form.

No assuming at all in that.

[AllenLowe]

ahhh, Blue Boy, you are not the only one here. I was referring to a description of Matt as possessing "Self-importance to the extreme" - you didn't say it and I didn't say you said it, speaking of assumptions.

Edited September 4, 2013 by AllenLowe

[Guy Berger]

My opinion is that both Ware and Parker were envious that the NYT was doing a piece on her and not them....which lead to Joerg's hey, Ware and Parker have been doing this almost as long as she lived response.

Yeah, well, if Joerg's a good promoter/supporter (and not just a smart business person), he should try and place such stories, maybe, rather than hitting the face of the youngster (and damn, I said it in 2001 and I still say it, she's a darn fine drummer) that does get a story. I found Tsahar's reply mostly very moderately and sensibly worded, I was kinda expecting a shitstorm but not there (and I don't like Tsahar's music much better than Ware's so that's nothing to do with my perception here).

Agreed.100%, Ubu. Joerg and co. were pretty sleazy here.